Group CBT in Adolescents With Fragile X Syndrome and in Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder

"Cooperative Group Therapy (CGT) is a cognitive-behavioral group therapy based on the theoretical and practical principles of the Cooperative Parent-Mediated Therapy model \[Valeri et al., 2020\].~The goal of CGT is to promote the following core skills: Pragmatics, Executive Functions, and Cooperative Interactions. The CGT program consists of 15 sessions over a total duration of 6 months: 12 group therapy sessions with adolescents and 3 sessions with their parents. Each session focuses on a specific topic and lasts between 90 and 120 minutes.~The CGT therapist is a psychotherapist with a cognitive-behavioral orientation who utilizes evidence.-based strategies to enhance pragmatic, socio-conversational skills, cognitive flexibility, emotional regulation, and cooperative interactions. The CGT intervention is conducted by two cognitive-behavioral psychotherapists specialized respectively in the treatment of FXS and ASD."

The Waiting List (WL) is a control group in which participants who do not receive the experimental treatment are placed on a waiting list to receive the intervention after the active treatment group has completed it. In the case of the WL, the CGT intervention is carried out after at least 6 months to allow the patients in the first group to complete the treatment cycle. This approach enables a comparison between a group of treated patients and a group of patients who have not yet been treated, while still allowing the latter to access the treatment at a later stage.